The Muppets Visit the Set of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in Fantastic Behind-the-Scenes Photos

Before he was a CGI creation, Jedi master Yoda was a puppet. And before he brought Yoda to life, puppeteer and voice actor Frank Oz was best known as the man behind Miss Piggy. In a weird way, that makes the most wizened character in the ‘Star Wars’ universe a distant relative of the extended Muppet family.

As you can see in the photos above and below, the set of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ hosted two members of Hollywood royalty, when both Kermit and Miss Piggy stopped by to say hello. And you know what? Of course this couple would visit the set of one of the biggest movies of all time! In their original TV show and their subsequent films, these guys were tapped into popular culture like no one else. Some may be surprised to see them posing with Mark Hamill, but these two have rubbed shoulders with all kinds of celebrities!

In all seriousness, these photos really seem like the result of Oz and his fellow Muppeteers rightfully realizing what a great photo op it would be to get all of these characters in the same room together. Yet, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Yoda and are all such fully realized characters that it’s hard to look at these images as a trio of puppets on a set. Nah. These are three living, breathing, not-fake-at-all creatures just chilling out on set.